Field marketing: Experiencing the brand

And the deeper the experience, the more opportunity there is for the marketer to capture consumer data, which is starting to become a feature in experiential marketing.

Companies using field marketing are considering whether sampling or experiential marketing better suits their needs on a case by case basis.

Engaging emotions

"Experiential marketing is targeted and provides true sales uplift over time," says Julia Collis, sales and marketing director of field marketing agency Headcount. "It engages the emotions," she says. "You hit fewer targets but get a better return."

Jon Reid, managing director of Mercier Gray Live, says his agency is moving increasingly towards capturing data for clients during experiential marketing events.

In a field marketing programme on behalf of Nivea For Men, Mercier Gray Live stationed trailers at shopping centres where men could retreat to a 'lads' lounge' and receive a facial and shave. There was both the time and the atmosphere to capture customer data, which was later used in DM promotions to cross and up-sell.

While agreeing that some clients are asking for more data capture in experiential marketing programmes, Loewy-Be business development director Andrew Mitchell says it's lower down the list of priorities than changing perceptions and raising awareness.

"Data capture is part of what we are doing, but not the core reason for brand experience. It's quite an expensive way to capture data," Mitchell says. "If you get more loyal customers and get them to talk to their friends, one of these people is worth more than 1,000 names."

And while consumers find most advertising and marketing intrusive, they seem to welcome brand experience, according to a survey commissioned by live brand experience agency ID. According to the April survey by independent research company MyVoice, of 1,097 consumers, 64 per cent had taken part in experiential marketing. Of those, 64 per cent could recall the name of the brand involved and 87 per cent said they liked the chance to interact with a product rather than be 'told' about it by television. An astonishing 83 per cent said they had made a purchase or considered making a purchase after being introduced to a brand via experiential marketing.

But the challenge is to keep it fun for consumers. There's a danger that data capture can subtract from the limited amount of time a brand has with a person participating in a brand experience. The ideal is to interact with a brand, not to spend that time filling out forms.

Mike Hughes, managing director of CPM, which has done experiential marketing for Microsoft and Diageo, comments: "By its very nature, experiential marketing provides an opportunity for getting first-hand feedback and crucial customer information through the face-to-face interaction. However, care must be taken not to distract from the very experience we are trying to create through asking customers personal questions."

First-hand feedback

One way to overcome time constraints is to simply collect email addresses, which the consumer is more likely to hand over in exchange for enjoying a good experience. Or, as with sampling, participants can be offered coupons or competitions which require them to fill in personal details.

In the past, experiential marketing has been seen as an isolated piece of marketing but by capturing data it can become part of an integrated CRM campaign, says Reid.

"We advise clients to build in mechanisms for data capture. Traditionally this has been done by couponing, but that entails waiting for customers to redeem them. It's better to capture data on the spot," according to Reid.

Gill Dunsford, managing director of Impetus, says increasingly one of the main goals of experiential marketing is to drive participants to a brand website, where data can be captured.

Integrated campaigns

For the launch of Vodafone Live, CPM Events managed experiential sampling using camera phones. Field staff photographed consumers with the phone and then a link was emailed to them, asking receivers to enter their details to access the photo. They could also give their home address for a print out.

Digital photos were also put to use in a CPM field marketing event for Diageo. When sampling in bars, staff stamped a temporary tattoo on the customer's arm of a website address which next morning they could log on to and see photos from the night before.

"Data capture and insight is also being built more into the front end of campaigns, as we see a trend towards data-driven customer management techniques to create targeted campaigns which deliver a brand experience to the audience most likely to add value to the brand," says Hughes.

Some experiential campaigns are even wider in the information they collect. Headcount's Collis says in some cases clients ask for qualitative data to be collected during experiential marketing, such as consumer reactions to a product.

RPM, the largest experiential marketing specialist, is itself taking a more integrated approach and broadening its roots as a brand experience agency into a marketing agency that offers planning, DM, PR, advertising and other marketing services. Managing director Ross Urquhart's aim is not only to stage a brand experience, but use marketing tools to get the right people there and then amplify the buzz after the event.

CHARLES WORTHINGTON

Last summer hair-care brand Charles Worthington wanted to raise awareness of its anti-frizz products. It's an effective product, but only if applied in the correct dosage. The brand brought in LoewyBe to provide brand ambassadors to work alongside Charles Worthington stylists to consult with women in shopping malls.

Consultation stands were positioned in Boots stores, where customers could either take a leaflet or receive a consultation.

Each participant was given a tailored "prescription" recommending the best combination of products for her hair. Consumer data was captured using coupons and an entry for a competition to win a trip to London to have the winner's hair styled by Charles Worthington himself.

"The beauty and benefit of a brand experience is you can take them from not even being aware of a product to buying and believing in one communication," says LoewyBe business development director Andrew Mitchell.

During the June promotion, 14,000 coupons and leaflets were given out, some 5,000 samples distributed and 3,000 one-to-one consultations were made. The redemption rate was 32.5 per cent and sales in the participating stores increased 731 per cent. During the week before the promotion the eight stores averaged 35 sales per week, which jumped to 255 per store the week of the promotion.